NY court calls for public input on nuke exemptions

Updated 6:43 pm, Tuesday, January 8, 2013

WHITE PLAINS — Federal regulators must hear from the public before they grant safety exemptions to nuclear power plants, unless public hearings would be "inappropriate or impracticable," an appeals court says.

The ruling, although narrow, was hailed by environmentalists. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chief prosecuting attorney for Riverkeeper, called it "a turning point" that would "both protect and involve the public in key NRC health and safety decisions."

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The 2007 exemption from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission allowed the plant to use insulation that would protect cables from fire for 24 minutes. The existing rule called for a one-hour protection.

Plaintiffs led by then-Assemblyman Richard Brodsky argued that the NRC never notified the public that it was considering such an exemption. They claimed that violated the National Environmental Policy Act.